Fire kills 3 in Spotswood

Three people died early this morning in a house fire in Spotswood, including a man who collapsed while trying to escape the blaze through a second-story window, authorities said.

The fire burned the two-story aluminum-sided home on Short Street just before 2 a.m., according to authorities, who were working to identify the victims.

"I think they pretty much have a good idea who they are, they just want to make sure they have the names right," said Mayor Barry H. Zagnit, who has been receiving updates about the blaze.

Zagnit and a neighbor, John Beluch, said the home was a rental property.

Beluch also said one victim was a widower and retired supermarket meat cutter in his 70s who was living with his recent fiancee. Beluch said the woman, who was in her 60s, also died in the fire.

Beluch said the third victim also was a roommate of Lapinski's.

Two victims were discovered inside the home, authorities said, but their exact location was not divulged. One of the men was found on the second floor, from which he had tried to escape.

"One of the first officers on the scene found one of the victims partially out of the house, in a window," said the mayor.

Police, fire and emergency medical service personnel were called to the house, where firefighters battled the blaze with mutual aid from neighboring towns.

Police said more information would be forthcoming.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan could not immediately be reached.

Zangit said investigators from the prosecutor's office were working with the fire department, borough fire marshal and building and electrical inspectors to determine what sparked the fire.

"It's a real tragedy. It's been many years since we had a fatal house fire," the mayor said. "I feel very bad for the victims and their families."

Beluch recalled the retired supermarked employee had eye problems, and said he had taken the man to see a doctor in Old Bridge. Beluch also remembered the other man was a smoker and that he rode a bicycle and socialized with his male roommate at a bar in Cranford.

"I can't believe it. These were just a couple of old guys," Beluch said as he stood at the end of the street this morning. "How the hell did they die in there?"